Like everything else about for-profit Steward—robotic surgery, fixed-rate insurance contracts, managers working with patients to prevent hospital readmissions—the e-ICU is focused on innovation, efficiency, and finding ways to save money. It's a formula that has been reshaping the way business is done in the state's health care industry ever since Steward was formed by a New York buyout firm in 2010 to take over the struggling Caritas Christi Health Care chain. But whether the makeover will achieve its most important goals—making medical care less expensive in Massachusetts and making a profit for Steward—remains an open question. What is certain is that Steward has become a force in this critical industry.
